The New Tattoo

Now that tattoos can be removed through laser surgery, people wanting to permanently modify their bodies are turning to branding. Using an ultra-hot iron, people are literally sizzling their skin to create burns so deep, the scars will remain for life.

"Human branding has become the latest twisted fashion trend for young professionals who regard straightforward tattoos and piercings as passe," the Daily Mail reported. "They happily pay up to £70 to have red-hot metal brands or cauterising pens, which burn at more than 1,000C, permanently scar their skin with a design."

Ready to be even more disturbed? One man shared his story with the Daily Mail:

"It was an incredible experience. There was smoke coming out of my arm and my burnt flesh smelled like a cross between chicken and bacon," the 29-year-old said.

"It's about pushing yourself and seeing how much you can take. In the end the adrenaline rush masked the pain.

The practice makes me think of the cattle brandings I've been to in Calgary, and I can tell you, there's little more vicious than seeing a cow scream in pain after the air is infused with the smell of burning hair. People are voluntarily doing this to themselves? Many consider the ranching practice cruelty to animals, so this self-inflicted mutiny is bound to have some adverse reactions too.